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Daily Archives: October 17, 2017

Host: Hello everyone and welcome back to character interviews! Today we’ve got a very special guest with us! Please give a warm welcome to the leading lady of her own soon-to-be-published story, Drakin: The Story of Raiya. It’s a pleasure to have you with us, Raiya!

Raiya: What… you’re implying I had a choice? One minute I’m heading north, heading for the ruins of Worcester, and suddenly I appear here!

Host: Yes, this is actually a very typical reaction we get. Don’t worry, we’ll be putting you back where we found you and you’ll have no memory of what happened here. In the meantime, would you mind answering a few questions for us?

Raiya: Again… do I have a choice?

Host: Not really.

Raiya: How about I just kill you?

Host: You’re not the first character to threaten me, you won’t be the last.

Raiya: Fine… it’s not worth the effort. What do you want?

Host: Well… why don’t you tell us about yourself and where you come from.

Raiya: My parents are dead, I look like a freak, and I’m hunting the dragon that killed my father, not much more to know.

Host: Your parents died? I’m so sorry… did you know them well?

Raiya: No… my mother died soon after I was born. I don’t know who my father is… but he likely died during the Richmond Massacre.

Host: The Richmond Massacre? What was that?

Raiya: And I thought I was out of touch… The Richmond Massacre was one of the bloodiest battles during the Red War, you do know what that is, right?

Host: No… can’t say as I do.

Raiya: Wow… okay… The Red War started years ago when a group of massive winged lizards from another world landed on Earth. They immediately attacked humanity and quickly began procreating to increase their numbers. Thirty years later, humanity has been reduced to a fraction of their original population and the lizards… which they call dragons for some reason… are winning the war. Little by little, human cities are destroyed and people are left destitute.

Host: Wow… that’s pretty bad. So humanity is fighting at the end of its line. So where do you fall on all of this?

Raiya: Richmond, Virginia was attacked by a massive dragon lord. The dragon lords are the original six dragons that landed on Earth. He killed my family… and I want its head.

Host: How will you know him when you see him?

Raiya: I’ll know… he’s said to have yellow eyes and black, red-tipped, scales. I’ve never seen another dragon like him.

Host: Fair enough… so where are you looking?

Raiya: Everywhere… I’ve listened for rumors among the nomad clans and war dissidents. He moves around quite a bit.

Host: So how do you plan to take him down?

Raiya: I’ve been on my own since I was 10 years old. I spent my time learning how to fight. I know dragons, and I know what their weaknesses are.

Host: And once he’s dead, what are you going to do then?

Raiya: I… I don’t know… I’m not exactly welcome in the cities. Usually they call me “freak or monster.”

Host: Why is that? Hey… is the light to much for you? You’re keeping your hood pretty tight on your head.

Raiya: Mind your own business.

Host: Well… All right, is there anything else you’d like to say?

Raiya: No…

Host: Nothing else we should know about you that would draw readers in?

Raiya: Readers? What the hell are you talking about?

Host: Oh um… nothing, never mind.

Raiya: *Sigh* look, I’m a young woman in a desolate world with an all-encompassing war going on. When I’m not avoiding dragon attack, I’m hiding from canbans! How much more interesting do you need?

Host: What are canbans?

Raiya: You don’t want to know.

Host: I believe that… well I think that’s all we have time for. Thanks for joining us, Raiya.

Raiya: Are we done here? You can send me home now…

Host: And a special thanks to all the readers who took the time to be here with us today! See you all next time!

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

I’m starting on writing my first story. I’ve never really done more than a short story that only spans a couple of pages. What do you feel is the biggest hurdle you have to overcome in order to get a satisfactorily publishable book and how do you deal with them?

Thanks,
Jan

Hi Jan,

Congratulations on taking that first big step into novelization. Creating a whole new world with dynamic characters! That first step is a huge deal, because you’ll be dedicating months to possible years on your first book. (Divinity took me 3 years to get right and was the 4th book to be published!)

So there are SEVERAL major hurdles you’re going to need to overcome… which ones are the biggest hurdles is subjective to the writer. So you may have an easier time with some over others. For me, they are as follows:

Time management.

Avoiding Burnout/Writer’s Block.

Editing.

Let’s address each one, shall we?

Time Management:
This is no joke. Setting aside the proper amount of time to work is absolutely crucial. You can’t spend all your time working on your book. You need to make time for your family (if you have one), as well as other responsibilities and just self-maintenance in general. Personal well-being, including exercise, socializing, etc. is a must. I say this because too many writers, myself included have to fight the temptation to just keep writing and let all else fall to the back burner. You can’t let this happen. Which brings us to #2.

Avoiding Burnout/Writer’s Block:
As I said above, don’t spend all of your time writing. You will experience this if you do, and even if you don’t, you may experience it. You may become disillusioned with the book, feel like the story went in a direction you didn’t want it to, or feel like it’s laborious just to get the good parts that you want to write about. Be prepared for this. This can be tempered if you really develop a relationship with your characters. Write out a set of questions and have them answer them. Get to know your characters before you start in on them. Once you do that, you should be able to get through almost anything. If that doesn’t help, there is plenty of great music out there to help you get the creative juices flowing again. I have included a massive playlist on my blog where I post (usually) daily songs that I use and where I use them.

Editing:
So this one is tough. For one, you’re working with another person. DO NOT RELY ON YOUR OWN EDITING! Yes go through and fix mistakes, but don’t just assume that this is all you need. Allow another set of eyes to go through your book and make sure they’re impartial. No family members or people who won’t be painfully blunt with you. I told my editor to rip the book apart and be as blunt as possible. I wanted it harsh so that I could fix anything and everything that came up.
Boy did I get schooled.
So this is why editing is a hurdle… because what makes sense and sounds right in your head, doesn’t always translate to the written word as well as we may want. You have to be open to the idea of having to change scenes, perspectives, and even cut rather massive amounts of story. It’s not going to be easy and you may not want to do it, but you’re going to need to be prepared for that. This is especially the case if you want to release it to the public.

So I hope this helps, but let’s open it up to the general forum:

Readers – What are your biggest hurdles and how do you overcome them?

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below: